Quebec City, Canada Quebec, capital of the province of the same name, is the only true walled city in North America, and one of the greatest fortifications in the Western hemisphere. Founded in the early 17th century, the city walls were erected in an age where such defenses were quickly becoming obsolete. In fact, Quebec City is among the very last walled cities to be … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF PINGYAO
Pingyao, China Pingyao is the greatest surviving walled city in the Far East. As in the west, many of China’s greatest cities were defended by walls in the Middle Ages. But few of these survive intact to the present day. This makes Pingyao the best preserved medieval city in China, and one of that country’s greatest historical sites. The walls and towers of Pingyao are … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF ITCHAN KALA
Khiva, Uzbekistan Itchan Kala is the largest intact walled city in Central Asia, and among the most magnificent surviving walled cities on the continent. Its picture-perfect, sandy-colored crenelated walls and domed towers look as though it has been built as a movie set. Thanks to its isolated location, distant from Tashkent, Bokhara and Samarkhand, Itchen Kala in Khiva is … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF BAKU
Baku, Azerbaijan Baku in Azerbaijan is the largest and best-preserved medieval walled city in the Caucasus region. Thanks in large part to its strategic yet out-of-the-way position on the west coast of the Caspian Sea, and a lot of good fortune, the city of Baku survived the ravages of the Middle Ages reasonably intact. Because of this, and because of of exceptional … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF HARAR
Harar, Ethiopia Harar is one of the few and unquestionably the most impressive walled, medieval city in Sub-Saharan Africa. Encompassing a very large municipal area, the extremely long wall neatly separates the city’s white-washed buildings from the lush green surrounding countryside. Harar owe’s its excellent and world-famous fortification to its position on the eastern … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF KAIROUAN
Kairouan, Tunisia The Walled City of Kairouan in Tunisia is among the finest in Africa, rivaling the various casbahs of Morocco in size and magnificience and surpassing them historically. Once considered by many in North Africa to be the fourth holiest city in the Islamic world, Kairouan was an important political and religious center throughout much of the Middle Ages. … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF DUBROVNIK
Dubrovnik, Croatia Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic, is a rare surviving walled city by the sea. This former maritime republic once welcomed merchant ships from all over the Mediterranean. It now welcomes cruise ships from all over the world. For many visitors, their first site of this historic walled city is usually by sea, which makes it an exceptionally rare, special … [Read more...]
WALLED CITIES OF NORTHERN ITALY (LUCCA, MONTAGNANA, SAN GIMIGNANO)
Northern Italy The late Middle Ages in northern and central Italy witnessed the rise of powerful city-states which had grown wealthy off of European and Mediterranean trade and support for the Crusades in the east. More than a dozen major city-states and scores of lesser ones emerged in the 12th century, each vying for its share of wealth and power in the Italian peninsula. … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF AVILA
Avila, Spain When it comes to walled cities, Avila in Spain is about as impressive as it gets. Although it may lack the fairy-tale aesthetics of Carcassone or Rothenburg, few other surviving walled cities in Europe convey the true military importance of defensive fortifications as well as Avila does. Absolutely dominating the surrounding hills and cityscape, from certain … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF YORK
York, England The walls of York, incomplete as they are, are still the best surviving municipal fortifications in the British Isles. Although York is perhaps a bit less spectacular than its counterparts in Avila and Carcaossonne, it is nevertheless impressive in its own right. The walls of York are perhaps more important from an historic standpoint. Dating back in part to … [Read more...]
